“It was a big moment for me” Christian Nørgaard reflects on Emirates debut

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·8 August 2025

“It was a big moment for me” Christian Nørgaard reflects on Emirates debut

Christian Nørgaard arrived over the summer and after featuring in the pre-season tour of Asia, made his Emirates Stadium debut against Villarreal. The Gunners snapped up the defensive midfielder in the beginning of July following the departures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho. Arsenal paid an initial fee of £10 million, that could rise with add-ons, for the 31-year-old Danish international. He featured in all three games of the tour of Asia and on Wednesday, 6th of August, he marked his long awaited Emirates debut with a goal.

The Dane opened the scoring for the Gunners against Villarreal and speaking via Arsenal after the game, Nørgaard admitted he enjoyed the experience of walking onto the Emirates pitch. “It was fantastic of course, walking onto the pitch, knowing you’re an Arsenal player,” he said after the game. “I’ve tried a few times being in the opposing team and it’s more fun to wear the Arsenal shirt! It was a big moment of course.

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“It was a big moment as well (to score), but I couldn’t really enjoy it as much as I would have because of the scoreline at the time. And also, not being able to win of course this game at home. But there’s still some things we need to improve before the season starts.”

Nørgaard highlights positives despite defeat

Goals from Nørgaard and Martin Ødegaard were not enough to ensure victory as Villarreal ran out 3-2 winners. Nørgaard, who scored Arsenal’s opening goal via a well worked set piece, believed there were positives to take despite the defeat. He added: “It’s just the final execution in both ends,” he said. “They had two or three chances, and they scored on all of them. And we had so many almost-chances like that where we just didn’t execute well enough. So that’s what we have to work on the last 10 or 11 days before the season starts. And if we get that right I’m sure we will be fine in the season.”

Christian Norgaard (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Focus turns to the Emirates Cup

Christian Nørgaard and Arsenal will take on Athletic Club in the Emirates Cup on Saturday. The encounter will mark the final pre-season friendly ahead of the 2025-26 campaign and fans will be hoping for a much better display. The new signings will look to continue their integration into the Arsenal squad against Athletic Bilbao. Much needed minutes were given to Viktor Gyökeres and Cristhian Mosquera against the Yellow Submarine, while the likes of Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke all featured as well. The Gunners kick off their top flight campaign against Manchester United on August 17th.

Good on Norgaard! His debut Arsenal goal, and on his first outing at the Emirates.

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Benjamin Kenneth

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